Daniel's Discovery: Orici and Ancientae
by morough
Summary: Daniel disappears from the SGC one night, and no one knows where he's gone...including himself. As he tries to find a way back, he learns more and more about a person who could very well have the power to bring the Ori to heel...crossover with Atlantis
1. Chapter 1

Daniel Jackson had a headache. Not just a normal headache, a full-scale migraine. _Since when did I have a "normal" level of pain? _He asked himself. He didn't answer, of course. He groaned and scrubbed the stubble on his chin, his eyes moving aimlessly over the books he had brought back from the last planet…Vermegille? Something odd and old sounding. The one they almost hadn't made it out of alive. He began to massage his temples, willing the pain and the problems he faced to disappear. _Why oh why did I rejoin SGC…_he didn't answer that question either.

"Hey – what's the matter?"

Sam knocked on the doorframe before entering, her brows furrowed in a concerned V. Daniel quickly drew his hands away from his head and made an attempt to look like he was awake. "Oh, nothing, just, um…just trying to translate this one word. Frustrating, actually. I've had to cross-reference Ancient, Old English, French, Latin…all sorts of fun stuff." He cracked a small smile and blinked innocently. Sam's eyes narrowed, suspicious of his lively demeanor. "Daniel, do you know what time it is?" Daniel blinked again, but this time in surprise.

"…No…"

"I thought so," Sam said, turning to leave. "Good night, Daniel. Sweet dreams." "Yeah, you too," Daniel muttered as he checked his wristwatch: 11:13 pm. Daniel sighed and carefully marked the page in the dusty tome he had been scanning. Dang. They had an off-world mission in the morning, checking out one of the planets listed in the "sleeping city's" hall of records. And with this headache, he was going to be lucky to get any sleep at all.

Bypassing his normal getting-ready-for-bed routine, Daniel simply popped some Ibuprophin and rolled onto the cot he'd set up in the corner of his office for overnighters. He took off his glasses and set them on the side table, and tried to find a comfortable position to fall asleep in. It took him a while to forget that he had left his desk lamp on. Daniel let out a dry chuckle when he finally did, getting out of bed and heading toward his desk to turn off the offending light. _I'm so stupid..._

The pain in his head caught him completely off-guard. He gasped and fell to the floor, scattering papers and files as he clutched at the desk for support. He couldn't think. He couldn't breathe. He had no choice but to succumb to the dancing, flashing colors that flitted like birds in his head...

oooo

Daniel woke up in the middle of a forest. The scent of pine needles tickled his nose, and from what little of the sky he could glimpse it was just after dusk. He took a moment to gather his wits; the most coherent thought he came up with was _this is not the SGC. Odd. _He sat up and checked his surroundings: nothing but trees, although the ground seemed to be sloping downward. It didn't feel like Earth. He couldn't have said why, but he had that feeling. A million thoughts were rushing through his head: He had no equipment with him whatsoever, as he hadn't exactly been _planning_ on being spirited away somewhere strange. The only thing he had was his pager which (predictably) wasn't able to reach anybody. His glasses were gone too, sitting on his nightstand wherever Stargate Command was, which made everything more than ten feet away nice and fuzzy. _Well, I can't stay here all night. I must have been transported here somehow…by somebody…which means that there is probably some sort of building or city here somewhere. Hopefully. _

Daniel shivered; the night was brisk, and almost felt wintery. He had taken off his jacket to go to sleep, something he now regretted. He sighed and began to walk, massaging his arms to keep them warm as the temperature steadily dropped.

_I should be worried how this…event…isn't scaring me or surprising me. It should scare me. I'm in the middle of nowhere with no knowledge of the planet or how I got here. For all I know, I could have a wild indigenous predator stalking me at this very moment. _Daniel glanced at the trees around him, but without his glasses it was all he could to do pick out a path between the trees. _Or I could be wandering right toward an Ori camp. Heck, anything is possible. Why am I here? …Maybe I had some sort of weird Ancient device in my room that I activated by…by…yawning? _Daniel glared at a small sapling that had tangled his feet and almost tripped him in passing. _I don't even know if this planet has a Stargate._

oooo

"Do you know where Daniel is?"

Colonel Mitchell looked at Samantha with surprise as she walked into the Gateroom. "He isn't here?" "No," she replied tersely, her eyes flitting around the room as though expecting to see her teammate hiding in a corner behind the Stargate. "I think he stayed here last night, I saw him as I was leaving. But his bed isn't slept in, and his papers are scattered all over his room." "He was attacked?" Mitchell asking, heading immediately for Daniel's office-slash-home. "It didn't look _too_ messy in there," Sam admitted as she jogged after Mitchell, "but he is missing, isn't he?"

A quick survey of Daniel's office showed up nothing useful. His jacket was lying at the foot of his bed, the covers were thrown back, and his research papers (mainly ciphers for ancient codes) were scattered all over the floor. A handful were bent, but not by searching hands. "His room wasn't locked?" Mitchell asked, checking the door over. "No," Sam said. "And all of is equipment is still here." Mitchell glanced at Daniel's gear in the corner next to his bookshelf, all ready to go for this morning. Mitchell's radio buzzed.

"Colonel? Do we have an off-world mission today or not?" General Landry's voice was merely inquisitive, not expecting anything unusual on such a fine morning. Mitchell regretted to ruin his mood. "General," he sighed, glancing once more around the room, "we've got a bit of a problem…"

oooo

"What do you mean, 'Daniel's missing?'" Landry asked. Mitchell and Sam filled him in as Teal'c walked into the briefing room. "Where is Daniel Jackson?" he asked mildly in his bass voice. "That is the question we're all asking, Teal'c," Landry said. "I could look at the surveillance cameras," Sam offered, "they have to have caught something." "You do that," Landry agreed, "I don't think there is going to be a mission today with one of your members missing, Colonel. SG-2 is free right now, they can handle it. I suggest you spend your time finding Dr. Jackson." "Yessir," Mitchell concurred, slinging his gun off his shoulder. _Daniel, what mess have you gotten yourself into now?_

"Cameron, Teal'c, check these out," Sam said, typing at her computer that she'd set up on Daniel's desk. "I've taken the footage from Daniel's office and isolated the hours of eleven to seven, which is when we first noticed Daniel was missing. We should get something."

The tape began to play, showing Daniel sitting at his desk. He went through the motions of flipping through his books, and massaging his temples. "Headache?" Mitchell suggested. Seconds later Sam appeared in the doorway. "I told him to go to sleep," she said, gazing intently at the screen of the computer. Her eyes showed concern as the three remaining members of SG-1 watched Daniel take the painkillers, showing clear need for them. "He's never told me about having a migraine," Sam murmured, watching Daniel get into bed. They watched him laugh and get up to turn off the light. "Whoa," Mitchell said under his breath as Daniel collapsed on the floor, clutching his head.

"He is in pain," Teal'c commented. Sam diplomatically ignored his statement, but Mitchell couldn't resist rolling his eyes. Teal'c just would never stop being Teal'c.

Daniel's body relaxed, almost as if he was falling asleep. "He's passing out," Sam explained, her worry now present in her voice as well. "God, that's got to be a lot of pain." Mitchell frowned. "Is that the camera?" he asked, as Daniel's form began to take on a misty quality. "I don't think so," Sam said, checking the specs on the computer. Daniel continued to fade. Moments later, he was gone. A single paper fell to the floor. The tape played on, but Daniel did not reappear.

"So, he…dissolved." Mitchell said, trying to hide his fear.


	2. Chapter 2

By the time he'd found some evidence of civilization, Daniel's feet were almost numb with the cold – not to mention the rest of his body.

He almost passed completely through a clearing before noticing the familiar stone structures set around its edge. He smiled with the recognition. _It's a miniature Stonehenge. This means the Ancients must have been here some time or another…which means a Stargate. _His spirits having been lifted considerably, Daniel continued forward.

A low moan pierced the stillness of the night.

Daniel stopped dead in his tracks. _Roaming predator?_ He wondered. Whatever it was moaned again, this time accompanied by the faint scuffling of dirt. Daniel turned around slowly, trying to force his heart to be slower. His eyes caught on a corner of blue fabric peeking from behind one of the large rocks on the edge of the clearing. Daniel stepped forward cautiously, but moved more quickly once he realized what he was seeing; a young woman was leaning against the gigantic stone, her eyelids fluttering and blinking as she struggled to remain conscious and get his attention.

She wore a now familiar medieval-style blue dress, and blue slippers and a net of blue jewels on her dark hair to match. However, she was bound hand a foot; thick leather thongs dug into her ankles, and her hands were not only tied behind her but were pinioned to her sides. A white cloth in her mouth prevented her from making a noise louder than a moan. "Whoa," Daniel breathed, also taking in an array of cuts and bruises that bespoke harsh treatment. The sound of his voice seemed to briefly revive the woman. Her eyes opened, and locked with his. Something stirred within Daniel. She had the same look of despair and pain on her face as Vala had when the Ori henchmen had chained her and left her to burn…the woman's eyes fluttered and closed, and she slumped against the rock, ending Daniel's memory.

Daniel spent the next hour picking the woman's bonds apart – it took him only a few short minutes to realize that there was nothing sharp enough on hand to cut through the leather. By the time he and his sore fingers were finished with the task, the sun was beginning to lighten the sky to a brighter shade of blue. Daniel's teeth chattered furiously as he tried to massage some warmth into the woman's icy hands. _How long has she been left like this?_ He wondered furiously. The blood he had seen on her was dry already, but none of her bruises had lightened to a yellow. Each time he checked her pulse it was fainter and fainter.

Once more Daniel contemplated the cruelness that Fate had to strand him on a strange planet with a dying woman. Once more, Daniel was also compelled to blame all stargates and the trouble they had caused him. He sighed, knowing that there was currently nothing he could do about his situation. "I need to get you someplace warm…er," he told her, although he was speaking more to himself. He hoisted her up to his chest, holding her as close as possible; she was so cold.

The sun rose completely, but the air within the forest remained just cool enough for discomfort. The woman's body felt small and limp in Daniel's arms, not to mention the fact she was still ice-cold. "Hang in there," Daniel muttered to her, though he knew she couldn't hear him.

Five men appeared seemingly out of nowhere, each with a bow and arrow trained on Daniel. He stopped dead in his tracks and read the dangerous light in their eyes. _Damn. More trouble. Exactly what I need. _The men were also dressed in medieval clothing, as the woman was. Daniel opened his mouth to speak, not sure at all of what he was going to say (_"Hello?"_)but the man directly in front of Daniel spoke first. He was dressed all in green, but the cloth was rich.

"Where are you going with that maiden, fiend?"

"'Fiend?'" Daniel repeated indignantly. The man raised and eyebrow and drew his arrow back further. _So much for first impressions, I suppose. _"I found her in the forest," Daniel explained hastily. "She's hurt, she needs medical attention."

The men stared at him. One of them tilted his head quizzically to one side. Daniel exhaled sharply in frustration. "She's dying!" he exclaimed, hoping that sounded desperate enough to get his point across quickly. It did.

"Follow me," the green man said tersely, lowering his bow. Daniel hoped this would inspire his companions to do the same, but there was no such luck. The man took off at a quick pace through the forest and Daniel did his best to keep up, especially with the bowmen behind him. Exhausted from a sleepless night and a breakfast-less morning, it was all he could do to keep up.

It was only a short time before they reached some sort of encampment, with tents decorated red, blue, and silver; a coat of arms depicting two otters surrounded by silver vines was sewn into the sides of many of the tents. Daniel was quickly ushered into the largest of them. Discounting the fact that it was a simple tent, it appeared quite comfortable; small glass lanterns sat on carved wooden tabletops, and a pile of gleaming furs formed a bed in the corner. "Give her to me," the green man ordered, taking the woman from Daniel's arms. He laid her carefully – tenderly – on the furs. "Fetch the Friar," he ordered, and one of the bowmen quickly left the room with a soft _swish_ of the tentflap.

The man stared down at the woman's form for a moment. Then, without warning, he whirled around to face Daniel. Almost before he knew it he was on his knees, and the man held a dagger at his throat. "If she dies, so do you," he breathed, looking Daniel square in the eye. Daniel believed him. He glanced at the woman he had rescued, lying so still and so silent on the pile of furs. This was his reward. She looked dead already…

"What is your name, Stranger?" the green man asked, sheathing his dagger and motioning for his men to get Daniel to his feet. "Daniel Jackson," he said, doubting but hopelessly hoping that the man had heard it before. He hadn't.

"I would start praying for her life, Daniel Jack's son. Jonathan of the Hood keeps his promises.

oooo

Back at the SGC, things were almost going as bad for SG-1 as they were for Daniel, though in a less life-threatening sort of way.

"…The Asgard have put out a general watch for Daniel and the Tok'ra are searching the planets in their systems, but so far nothing as come up. We've even contacted Atlantis Base."

Sam's voice sounded tired, and everyone else present in the briefing room looked it.

"Have we identified what sort of technology kidnapped Dr. Jackson?" General Landry asked. The word "kidnapped" seemed to echo about the room. No one had yet used that word in reference to Daniel's disappearance. Now that it had, it shed a more sinister and malicious light on his absence. The room almost seemed darker and smaller than it had before.

"No, sir, we haven't," Sam sighed. "There were no residues that our equipment could pick up in his office. Of course, we were scanning seven hours after he disappeared." "Perhaps the Ori have something to do with Daniel Jackson's disappearance," Teal'c suggested. He was standing with his back to the table, gazing at the dormant Stargate in the room below. "I wouldn't put it past them," Mitchell said, pouring himself coffee from the carafe on the table. "As they're getting ready to attack Earth, kidnap one of tour men and ask him a few questions about our defenses. They know who Daniel is, and that he's important to us."

"The way he was taken…it was slow and gradual. It could have been some sort of long-range transporter," Sam concluded. "Check it out," Landry ordered, getting to his feet. "Now I need to go explain to Mr. Woolsey why one of my men is missing." "Mitchell couldn't help but grin. "Good luck on that one, Sir."

"Yeah, thanks, next time I'll send you," he grumbled as he walked out of the door.

* * *

Well, I've remembered to put a note at the end of _this_ chapter! I'm back, if anyone who read any of my stories a year ago (Lordy, that's a long time) remember me :). Of course, now I'm in a new genre, so I hope I'll get some new readers too.

This story is just kinna popping off the top of my head…I sat down and wrote for five hours today wipes sweat from brow and no, I wrote more than just these three pages :). So enjoy, review, and check out the next chapter which I'll hopefully be able to get up tonight as well…


	3. Chapter 3

Vala sat cross-legged on Daniel's cot, staring at nothing in particular.

The prospects of finding Daniel seemed very bleak. Everything everyone had told her – that maybe the Ori kidnapped him, maybe they could find him, all the maybes – they all sounded like shots in the dark. Shots that couldn't hit anything even if the people holding the guns had any idea where to aim.

Vala had owned a dog once, when she was still a Goa'uld host. It had been a small black thing with curly fur and bright eyes that she used to carry in her arms. One day when she had left her palace-temple for some reason or another, it was killed and eaten by a hawk. But that wasn't found out until later, when a servant had found her pet's jeweled collar in the beast's nest. Her dog had been taken away from her so quickly and so suddenly, it was almost as if he had never existed. Not that Daniel was a dog – or in any way similar to one – but Vala found herself forgetting Daniel already. He had been taken so quickly. Despite being the in his office, in the middle of his books and clothes and everything that was Daniel on the surface at least…he still seemed only a vague memory that Vala was desperately trying to resurrect.

"I am _not _going to forget you, Daniel Jackson. You had better be alive and kicking somewhere and finding a way to get back home." Her words fell heavily in the silent room.

oooo

Three days had past, and Daniel was still a prisoner. His hands and feet had been bound – not with leather and not roughly, but firmly – and he had been put into a considerably smaller tent with a guard outside. He could hear men beyond the fabric, talking and performing daily tasks, but no one came into his tent except to bring him food or water or to take him out for a short while.

The three days gave Daniel ample time to think about his situation. Now that his immediate needs had been satisfied (nourishment, warmth, relative safety) he focused on more serious questions. He wondered what Mitchell, Sam, and Teal'c were doing to find him. He wondered if this planet really did have a stargate and if so, would these people know about it or take him to it? The man who seemed to be his guard and caretaker refused to answer any of his questions, let alone talk to him.

And the woman – who was she? She seemed very important to the man in green – Jonathan of the Hood. Could she _possibly _have anything to do with this little adventure Daniel had landed himself in? He hadn't had any migraines or headaches since his arrival on this planet. And he _did _find her in some sort of Stonehenge, which corresponded with Ancient legends…

Daniel snapped out of his contemplative mode as the tentflap was jerked open. The haggard face of Jonathan appeared. "Bring him," he ordered to Daniel's guard. The man came in and deftly sliced apart the restraints on Daniel's legs and hauled him to his feet.

All the men in the camp watched him as he stumbled by. Whatever they were doing – cooking, cleaning, sharpening swords or talking, they all stopped and stared. Their faces were unreadable masks. _She must have died, _Daniel realized numbly. He felt sorrow for her death, but also had an overwhelming feeling of "damn."

Jonathan brought him to the large tent again and pushed him inside, throwing Daniel off-balance and crashing to the floor. Before Daniel could attempt to get to his feet again a heavy boot descended on his head and held in him place. Daniel also felt the tip of an arrowhead brush his hair.

"Watch her die, Daniel Jackson," he growled. The woman's death-pale face rested only a few feet from Daniel's. He could hear the fatigue in the man's voice; he must have stayed with her for the past three days. Husband, maybe?

Daniel couldn't tell how long the two of them stayed there, he with his forehead being ground in to the ground and the other holding an arrow motionless above his head. They were there for so long that Daniel could actually see her breaths beginning to slow which, while a good change from her labored breathing before, were not exactly encouraging for her chances of life. _I think this would be time to do something stupid…_Daniel decided.

He rolled himself as hard as he could to the left, throwing Jonathan (who had one foot on Daniel's back) off-balance, and his arrow careening past Daniel's right ear into the ground. He let out a roar of anger and hastened to set another arrow, but Daniel knocked the bows out of his hands. Then there followed the frenzied hand-to-hand combat that only a geeky archaeologist and an experienced woodsman can achieve together. At least no one ever accused Dr. Jackson as being orthodox in his fighting technique. "Random" and "reckless" may be better descriptions.

As they were fighting, Daniel felt an odd feeling in his mind. It was a sort of amused anger…and it didn't really seem to connect with the rest of Daniel's emotions. Suddenly, Jonathan stopped fighting. Daniel barely retained a punch that had been aimed towards the man's face, and turned to see what he was looking at.

The woman was sitting cross-legged on the bed, arms folded, and was surveying them with a small (if annoyed) smile on her face. "Myrell!" Jonathan shouted, falling to his knees beside her and engulfing her in a gigantic hug. Jonathan's two armsmen finally seized the opportunity to pinion Daniel's arms to his sides. The woman – Myrell –directed her attention away from Jonathan and gave them a sharp look. They stared coolly back at her, but Daniel felt their hands loosen a little on his arms. The woman pried herself out of Jonathan's embrace and stood. She wobbled dangerously for a moment, but Jonathan steadied her. She stepped toward Daniel, gently cupped his hands in her own, and kissed them, which Daniel took as a sign of thanks. A moment later his thought was confirmed.

_Thank you, Daniel Jackson. _Her voice almost seemed to echo in the tent. Before he could reply Jonathan was leading her away. As they left the tent Daniel could hear the men outside cheering. _I guess things are finally going to get better,_ Daniel thought with relief. At least, they might get as good as they could be when he was cut off from Stargate Command and Earth.

oooo

The more Daniel learned about Jonathan of the Hood, he saw how similar he was to old English legend; Robin of the Hood (a.k.a., Robin Hood) was the illustrious ancestor who had established Jonathan's house and lineage. Predictably enough, his rival ruled a city called Nottingham. It was funny, actually. But it would have been more enjoyable had he known how to get back home…he had questioned Jonathan about the presence of a Stargate on the planet, but he seemed to have no clue. "'Portal to the Heavens?'" Jonathan chortled, laughing at Daniel's progressively desperate attempts to find a stargate. "Perhaps you would be better off telling tales to little children than wasting time being my scribe!"

Needless to say, Daniel didn't broach the subject again. He had his hands full with Jonathan's library, which was the largest around unless you wanted to go to Nottingham. It was full of generations of information, all the way back to Robin Hood himself. Daniel hoped he would be able to discover if there was a forgotten stargate from there.

He also did an extensive background check on Myrell. Just curiosity, of course…and it wasn't easy to find out much about her. The most reliable information he got was from Jonathan's cellarmaster, who seemed to be in a perpetual state of tipsy-ness. One year ago she had been found in the Hood, naked as the day she was born (which the cellarmaster seemed to find quite intriguing). Her arrival had been heralded by a falling star, apparently. Jonathan's men had found her and he took her on as a servant out of charity. Then one day when Jonathan was out hunting, a band of Nottingham's men took them for a raiding party and attacked. Jonathan was nearly killed; but Myrell saved him.

"'E come back wit' 'is arm danglin' harf off, all bloody an' all, and not one hour la'er 'e's walkin' round 'appy as yer please," the cellarmaster explained enthusiastically. "Arfter tha', ol' Jon Hood treated 'er like a bloomin' princess, 'e did, an' 'e's all set out ter marry 'er! 'A course, 'e'll 'ave some time askin' 'her," he chuckled. "Why's that?" Daniel grunted as he helped the portly man roll a keg to the other side of the room. "Well, we carn't figure wot language she speaks, if she can at all," the cellarmaster said conspiratorially. "She's understandin' us all well enough, but she's said naught a word since she's been among us." Daniel thought about the day in the tent when she first woke up. _I've heard her speak. Why can't anyone else?_

The result of this mystery was that Daniel spent the majority of the next few days lurking in Jonathan's garden, where the cellarmaster said "Lady Myrell" often walked. The first day was rainy, but the second day he finally spotted her with a maid. He caught up with them and coughed quietly to announce his presence. Myrell and the maid turned, and Myrell smiled when she recognized him. "May I speak with you a moment?" he asked her, trying his best to ignore the look on the maid's face as she struggled to decide whether Daniel was crazy or just an idiot. Myrell studied him for a moment, and Daniel wondered if he had imagined her words and she really was mute. But then she made a quick shooing motion to the maid with her hand. The maid blinked in surprise, but curtsied politely and walked a little ways off, sneaking curious glances at the pair as they stood on the stone path.

"Forgive me if I am wrong," Daniel began, but…everyone says you are mute. That you can't talk. But I think they're wrong." Myrell gave him a sharp look. It was a calculating look, but interested. "_Can _you talk?" Daniel asked.

Myrell nodded.

"Great," Daniel said, smiling. Myrell smiled too. He waited. She didn't say anything. Then it struck Daniel; "Why _won't_ you talk?"

Myrell's smile faded. She turned and walked away, back toward her maid. "Wait!" Daniel called, but Myrell's maid ushered her swiftly back indoors. Daniel stood alone in the garden, wondering what in the world was going on.

He was suddenly aware of a dull, throbbing pain in his head. He was getting a headache.

Sorry about not getting this up when I said I would. There were several factors, computer hogs and writers' block being among the foremost. But anyways. I think this one's my longest chappie on here so far…hope it's good, please tell me…:)…And the next chapter will be more exciting. I think. -checks outline- Yesh. Well, it's supposed to be exciting at least, I don't really know! I need reviewers like YOU to tell me! –smiles sweetly-

Oh, and heads up, the Atlantis characters will be making an appearance down the road…don't you love how they combined them last Friday? Lol, McKay, McKay…I think things would have been worse (in a funny way) if it had still been O'Neill instead of Mitchell. Pretty great all the same though :D lmol…


	4. Chapter 4

Salright, I'm hoping that my writing is generally improving as the chappies get on…I'm spending more time on them, if anyone's noticed :D. Hopefully not too much tho.

* * *

Anyone see the arrow in Rodney's butt last Friday? –falls over laughing- And did everyone else miss our Dear Doctor Daniel too? Paltry excuse, "he's still in Atlantis…" 

The only thing that could make Daniel's world worse happened a month later.

An Ori Prior cam to Jonathan's castle, "seeking a room for the night." _Yeah, right, you white-eyed bastard_…Daniel had a great deal of Prior nicknames. All of them in good cheer, of course.

"Lord Jonathan!" Daniel called out, stopping Jonathan in the hallway the first opportunity that he had. "You can't let him stay here," he panted.

"You have met this man before?" Jonathan asked quizzically.

"Maybe not this one specifically," Daniel said quickly, "but I've met other Priors, that's what they officially call themselves. They are very, very dangerous. Has he mentioned Ori or Origin yet?"

"No," said Jonathan with a slight frown. "Dangerous, you say?"

"Yes, I'm getting there," Daniel explained, glad that Jonathan wasn't simply brushing him off. "The Ori are their so-called gods and Origin is the name of their religion. They will attempt to convert you to it at all costs. If you refuse, they will kill you and all your people. I have seen it before. Please believe me," Daniel added, afraid that he might not have gotten the message across. Jonathan nodded slowly to show he understood, though doubt still lingered in his eyes and the arch of his eyebrows.

"I would be loathe to mark you as a liar, Daniel Jackson. But I do believe that my men and I can handle one man." "But he isn't just one man," Daniel demurred. "He's connected to the others like him. And his staff carries a terrible killing power. If he decides to turn on you, he could take on and destroy an entire fist of men with ease. Seriously."

Now Jonathan was beginning to look concerned. _Finally!_ "If his staff is so dangerous I would confiscate it while he is my guest. I would do no less to any other stranger who came to my castle armed so perilously."

"I really don't think he'd let you do that," Daniel warned as he followed Jonathan, who had promptly set off down the hallway at a brief trot.

They came face-to-face with the Prior roughly four seconds later. _Shoot._ The man grinned a large, white-toothed grin as his pearly eyes rested on Daniel, who had tried (without success) to stand behind Jonathan as the Prior came into view. When he spoke his voice was unctuous and regal, with the typical oily Priorlike quality.

"Doctor Daniel Jackson. How good to see you," he said, bowing his shaved head in mocking respect. Jonathan turned to Daniel. "This is one of the Priors that you say you have met?"

"Yes, I suppose so," Daniel said, eyeing his enemy carefully. He wasn't quite sure what to do. It wasn't like he could call Mitchell or Sam for help. And he certainly wasn't going to have tea with the man. Jonathan turned back to the Prior.

"I would have you give me your staff, good sir, for safekeeping. I do not allow my guests to go about armed in my castle."

Daniel detected the soft rustle of skirts behind him. Myrell had come out of the adjacent room and was standing next to Daniel, behind Jonathan, who continued to exchange words with the Prior who (predictably) was not giving Jonathan his staff.

"…Yes, this staff of mine may be called a weapon. But it is a righteous weapon, for it will only be used against those who refuse to follow the path of Origin; for hear me now, all those who reject the Ori must die…_hallowed are the Ori!_"

The last phrase rang through the packed hallway. Daniel almost jumped with surprise as he realized the hallway had quickly but silently been filled with Jonathan's men. One of them tried to lead Myrell away, anticipating a fight, but she silently slapped his wrist before he could grip her arm, and he obediently withdrew his hand. Daniel wished he had insisted. If things got ugly…

"I can hear about your Ori later. But if that staff is indeed a weapon – as you yourself have just confirmed – I must have it. It will be returned to you upon your departure from my castle." He reached out his hand toward the sculpted golden staff.

"Don't-" Daniel shouted, trying to grab Jonathan's arm. Myrell moved at the same time, for the same purpose. But Jonathan moved more quickly than either of them.

Though not as quickly as the Prior.

A brilliant light filled the hallway. His eyes overcome by the radiance, Daniel could only hear Jonathan scream. When the light faded a charred skeleton, clothed with the tatters of Jonathan's once-fine clothes, lay smoking on the blackened stones of the hallway. Myrell screamed, and all Hell broke loose.

Arrows zipped past Daniel's head as he fell to his knees both to avoid the heavy wooden bolts but also to prevent Myrell from touching her lover's corpse; as the two of them stared at it, horrified at the sight, the bones crumbled into small dark beetles, which burrowed into the cracks of the stone and disappeared. "Plague beetles," Daniel said to himself. Myrell sobbed, then suddenly threw herself at the Prior, dragging the surprised Daniel to his feet as he tried to stop her.

The concussive blast from the Prior's staff hurt more than Daniel had thought it would. It threw him and Myrell through the ranks of remaining bowmen (their arrowheads scraped his back) and ultimately slammed him against the thick stone wall. Sandwiched between a rock wall and a projectile woman was not the best place to be. The light of the Ori's staff flashed through his closed eyelids as he promptly lost consciousness.

oooo

Daniel awoke thoroughly disoriented. He was surrounded by four metal walls instead of the familiar stones of Jonathan's castle. He sat up slowly and gingerly touched his head; if felt like it was swathed in thick wool, and he knew he could feel at least one broken rib. "Beautiful, wonderful," he muttered sourly under his breath. He could only guess his location, and his gut was telling him it was not where he wanted to be at all…

A hidden door slid open and a Prior stepped in. Daniel braced himself for the worst. But the Prior surprised him by stepping aside and letting a young woman enter the room. Daniel recognized her immediately: Adria, Vala's Ori child.

"Good morning, Dr. Jackson," she said coolly, looking him up and down. It was disconcerting to remember that the last time he had seen her should couldn't have been thirteen years old…or at least appeared so. In reality, she was less than a year old.

"You are afraid," she said with a trace of curiosity. "But more intrigued than afraid. Why am I so interesting to you, Dr. Jackson?"

"Well, um…Vala has told me a lot about you," he said quickly, deciding it wouldn't be a good idea just then to get into Ascended law and lawlessness. Not to mention Adria's evident superhuman capabilities. Her eyes flashed when he finished speaking and she drew herself up straighter, if that were possible. Her chin took on a haughty angle, and her hands clenched her richly embroidered skirts.

_Oops. Wrong thing to say._

"My _mother,_" Adria spat angrily, "is an unbeliever and will receive her judgment as you shall. And I do not expect that judgment to be at all to your liking. Hallowed are the Ori"

Despite her harsh words Daniel could see her lip trembling after she finished speaking. _She's just a child after all,_ he realized, _and she _does_ miss her mother. Interesting._

"I do NOT!" Adria shouted, losing all self-control. After her outburst she immediately schooled her face into cool authority once more. "I will speak with you later," she said, her tone conveying images of ice and snow. She turned with an angry flounce of her bloodred skirts and exited Daniel's cell as the door appeared for her. The Prior followed obediently at her heels.

Once they left Daniel tried to stand up but immediately decided not to; his ribs hurt far too much. _I should probably wrap them with something,_ he thought, searching his pockets for anything that might cut the hem of his shirt into strips. His chances of getting home had _definitely _deteriorated since arriving unexpectedly on Jonathan's planet.

Daniel had expected to be left alone until an interrogation could take place, but the door slid open again almost immediately after Adria and her pet Prior had exited.

Daniel only had the time it took the door to close to study the man. He was dressed in soldier's garb, with a powerful Ori weapon clenched in his fist. He began to speak immediately after the door was closed. He was filled with a cold fury that was shown in every line of his face; but at the same time he lost, like he didn't know what to do.

"Are you the one who turned Vala away from Origin?" he asked immediately. His voice was hoarse and intense, as though he had not had a good night's rest in a long time.

"No…no, I'm not," replied Daniel, surprised. Was this man Vala's husband? _What was his name…Tomin? Yeah, Tomin._ Now that he was thinking about it, he did look familiar.

"But you took her! Tell me where you took her!" she shouted, leveling his weapon at Daniel. He glanced nervously from his slightly shaking hand to Daniel's face, as though not entirely sure if the weapon was in his hand or not.

"I did not 'take' her," Daniel retorted, raising his hands into the air slightly, "she left of her own free will."

"But _you_ must have turned her," Vala's husband hissed. "All those days when I was out, and Vala was with that cursed innkeeper and his whore. Someone must have turned her away from Origin then. How long were you in our village? Who did you hide with? How many others did you poison with your lies? Why VALA?" His chest heaved with ill-concealed emotion. But his hand with the weapon in it did not falter.

"I've never been to your village, I don't even know what planet you come from," Daniel said quickly, eyeing the weapon. "But I have known Vala a while. I knew her from _before_ she crashed on your planet and ended up in your village."

"No," Tomin whispered, thrusting his weapon closer to Daniel to accentuate his words. "No more lies! Vala said she came from a neighboring village. She _told _me that. You lie!"

"No, I'm not," Daniel said as calmly as he could. "She is from my galaxy. The galaxy of unbelievers. She was transported to your galaxy by the Ori. She was born, lived, and will die here if your ships find her, as they will eventually. Did you know that? That your precious Priors have known all along who and what Vala is? And where she is from? She, like you are, is just a tool to them-"

"STOP!" Tomin shouted, swinging his weapon at Daniel's head. Daniel fell into the corner, barely managing to hang onto consciousness. _Ouch._

"If I could just speak with her," Tomin whispered, staring at Daniel. Tears had formed in the corners of his eyes. "I could tell her-"

Tomin stopped speaking abruptly. At first Daniel thought he was experiencing the aftereffects of the blow to his head, but Tomin could feel it too. Energy was crackling on the walls. The room was filled with a low buzzing, like the hum of a hundred computers. The hairs on Daniel's head and arms were beginning to stand on end. Tomin looked just as puzzled as Daniel felt.

A soft green-blue light began to coalesce in the cell, between Daniel and Tomin. The two of them watched mutely, mystified, as the light grew darker and more solid. Tomin suddenly hefted his weapon to his shoulder and fired twice at the light. "HEY!" Daniel shouted as he ducked the blasts. Lances of pain pierced his head and ribs. The light simply parted in the middle to let the blasts through then joined again. With a sudden flash of light, a bolt of energy shot out of the center of the light and hit Tomin square in the chest, and sent him flying to the opposite wall. He let out a choking yell and slid back to the ground, his weapon clattering uselessly on the floor. Daniel leapt to his feet, ignoring the pain as best he could in order to get as far away from the light as possible. It lengthened and grew even darker, touching the floor. To his surprise, when it completely solidified it was…

"Myrell?"

She nodded happily, apparently unaware of the fact that her manner of appearance in Daniel's cell was in no way ordinary.

"How…how did…?" Daniel was speechless. He had never seen anything like it. But before he could fully articulate what he wanted to say Myrell silenced him with a slim finger to her lips. Another quick hand movement and the hidden door slid open. She beckoned for him to follow quickly and stepped out into the hallway. Daniel did so, with only a quick glance at Tomin's immobile body as the door closed behind him.

Myrell set a quick pace as they walked through the ship, which was uncannily empty. Daniel could hear the distant throb of the ship's power source pound in his ears. _Why aren't there more soldiers around here? This _is _a warship…_

Speak of the Devil.

Daniel and Myrell rounded one corner and came face-to-face with nearly twenty Ori soldiers. Myrell squeaked and with alarm and ran down a different hallway, seizing Daniel's hand and pulling him along behind her. The soldiers recovered quickly from their surprise and followed them at a run, filling the hallway with their shouts. Daniel tried to concentrate on breathing; every time his feet hit the floor he could almost feel his ribs scrape against his lung. "Myrell," he grunted between gritted teeth, "I can't go much farther…"

She finally skidded to a stop as they turned into a room, and Daniel sank to his knees, then slid to the floor, trying to breathe and hold back the pain from running. When he could finally see past the black spots in his vision, he realized that he was in some sort of a transporter room. A smooth beaming platform was set into the floor, and a small control console glowed to the right.

_Were my ears affected by the gun, or do those weapon blasts sound…weird?_ Daniel turned over gingerly onto his elbows to see what Myrell had done to keep the Ori soldiers at bay.

Daniel had expected to see a protective door of some sort, or maybe even a shield (although he had doubted, even given Myrell's evident knowledge of the ship's blueprints, that she would know how to figure out a shield). Daniel saw neither of these things. If he had been standing, his jaw certainly would have hit the floor; given his current posture, it only went as far as his chest.

It wasn't a door or forcefield holding the weapon blasts at bay, it was simply…Myrell. She was standing in the doorway, her hands extended in front of her, palm upward. The violet-tinted blasts stopped twelve inches from her extended fingertips. Somehow, _she_ was blocking the weapons.

"Myrell!" Daniel choked, "How are you _doing _that?" Myrell looked at him, turning only her head.

_You can figure out how to work the transporter. There is a device like the one you questioned Jonathan about at the castle on the planet below. You said it would take you home. _

Her voice sounded strained. Daniel realized that every time Myrell (miraculously!) blocked weaponfire, her entire frame shuddered as though they had actually struck her. Daniel scrambled to his feet, biting back the anticipated pain from his ribs, and got to work on the transporter control. "Dammit," he muttered under his breath as he stared blankly at the control device. He hadn't had much technical experience with Ori technology. Most likely it needed a Prior to activate it.

_Hurry!_ Myrell shouted, her voice echoing over the muffled reports of the weapons.

"It needs a Prior to activate it!" Daniel shouted frantically. His eyes fell on a staff-shaped impression on the curved side of the control, confirming his suspicion.

Myrell glanced first at him, then at the soldiers she was holding at bay. _I can do it._ This time, her voice was only a whisper.

She slowly backed up, though still holding her hand in front of her. Daniel stepped away from the control as she approached, mutely wondering what miracle she could perform next.

It happened very quickly.

Light broke like a waterfall from her hands and cascaded over the soldiers; they immediately slumped to the ground – dead, or unconscious. The light had been so bright it left Daniel's already-sore eyes (which were severely missing their corrective lenses) that for a few moments he couldn't see anything at all. When his eyes began to refocus, Myrell was studying the impression for the Prior staff.

She slowly lowered her tightly closed fist into the depression and closed her eyes. A soft violet glow formed within her clenched fingers. It deepened to a green flame, and pooled to fill the depression.

Daniel was quite unashamed to realize that his mouth was hanging open again.

The heatless fire vanished from her hand, but remained in the depression. Myrell quickly pulled a thoroughly stunned Daniel Jackson onto the transportation platform. After a surge of purple energy, Daniel and Myrell materialized on the planet below. It was dry and mostly devoid of trees or any other friendly green shrubbery.

Unfortunately, Ori minions were otherwise quite in abundance. Myrell let loose another alarmed squeak and immediately threw up her hands, barely stopping the blasts from the surprised but well-trained soldiers.

Daniel turned (but couldn't help flinching as threatening balls of energy exploded inches from his body) and sure enough, there was the stargate. The only regrettable thing about it was that it was guarded by soldiers who were determined to fire at him and Myrell even if it had no effect. _Actually, they might be,_ Daniel considered. Myrell was definitely struggling to protect the two of them, however she was doing it. Her face was sweaty and pale, and the protective bubble that seemed to be around them was getting smaller and smaller. Myrell was beginning to shake uncontrollably.

Daniel did the first thing that came to mind. He braced himself against the pain, then scooped Myrell up and ran with her held tightly in his arms. Her shield threw the soldiers twenty feet as it made contact with them. Once he reached the dialing device he set her down (supporting her trembling body with one hand) and dialed Earth. The wormhole engaged, and he picked Myrell up again.

The shimmering blue even horizon was only three feet away when an energy blast hit Daniel low on his left side. He screamed and fell, dropping Myrell.

Myrell screamed with him as she crashed onto the stony platform in front of the gate. She immediately threw her shield up again, cursing her weakness as she looked at Daniel Jackson's damaged body. Whether or not he was dead, she couldn't tell, and she couldn't take the time to check. She gripped his arm with both hands and pulled him through the wormhole. Her muscles balked, being forced both to maintain the shield and pull Daniel's heavy body, but somehow she did it. The event horizon swallowed the two of them eagerly, and they left the Ori soldiers far behind.

3.2 seconds later…

* * *

Uuuuuugg, my wrists hurt. You'd think someone would be considerate and put the wrist support back in front of the main computer but no, someone has to use it for their personal computer…-sighs and massages wrists-. 

Despite my wrists, it's high time I thanked my reviewers, isn't it?

saiyuki123: thank you! I hope you liked this one too :D

StargateAngel101: I am neither authorized to confirm or deny your suspicions…winks :D

Circular puzzel: Thank you…am I keeping the suspense up:D

angw: Atlantis is going to play a rather major role in the second half of this story :). I'm actually kinna worried about getting booted out of the SG-1 section for it. I mean, SG-1 is still going to be important and present and active and all that, but maybe I should move this story to some crossover section or something…or do you think anybody'd really care/report me?

And if anybody cares about Robert Kennedy, head over to (can't insert link) "www dot myspace dot com slash jasonmraz" and listen to "Song for a Friend." Maybe you'll recognize the clip at the beginning.


	5. Chapter 5

I love you people who review :D Really, I do. If I knew who you were I'd make you chocolate chip cookies:D

-ahem- Now to the story…:D

* * *

"Incoming unscheduled wormhole! Unscheduled wormhole…"

The red alarm lights flashed merrily throughout the base, ushering General Landry and the rest of SG-1 down to the gateroom.

"I wonder who this could be," Sam said curiously as they watched the gate light up in preparation for the wormhole.

"Probably some crazy alien come to kill us all," Mitchell scoffed.

"I think that would be highly unlikely, Colonel Mitchell," Teal'c announced, raising a thick eyebrow. "Well, you never know," Mitchell said defensively, trying to hide his smile, "there are some pretty crazy aliens out there, you know."

The stargate flooded with the shimmering blue face of the wormhole, sending waterlike ripples across the gray metal ceiling and walls of the gateroom. For a few moments, nothing happened.

"We're not receiving an IDC, sir," Lt. Davis called through the intercom. "No signal of any kind?" Landry questioned. "No sir, none," Davis replied, "should I put up the-"

He cut off his question abruptly as two bodies tumbled onto the metal gate platform. The wormhole shut down, leaving the figures motionless on the platform. Everyone fell silent. Then the smaller figure lifted its head; it was a young woman. Her curls were damp and matted to her forehead and neck, and her eyes swam in and out of focus as she surveyed the men with drawn firearms staring her down around the gateroom. She took her gaze off their matte M-16s and looked straight up at where General Landry and SG-1 were standing.

"Daniel…Jackson!" she said loudly. Then she slumped against her companion, unconscious.

Chaos promptly broke loose in Stargate Command as it never had before. (Okay, maybe once or twice, but this was definitely one of the bigger moments).

"Stand down!" Landry shouted to the soldiers below them as Sam requested a medical team at the same time. Then they, along with what seemed like the rest of the base personnel, rushed down to the stargate and the two unconscious figures it cradled.

Mitchell was the first to reach Daniel (vaulting not-to-gracefully over the stair rail in order to do so), though the others were close on his heels. "Oh God, is that you?" he whispered to nobody in particular. The laying at Mitchell's feet was a mess. He was dressed in those weird medieval-style clothes that seemed to be on every planet they visited, had several interesting bruises, and the most unruly beard that Mitchell had ever seen in his life. But it was Daniel.

oooo

The first thing Daniel heard was the soft beeping of medical machines. A very familiar sound. Daniel allowed himself to smile. _I'm home._ He reveled in his other senses before he opened his eyes. He could feel the (very) familiar sheets of the hospital bed under him, and the room smelled like clean linen and coffee. He could feel the light brush of air as the ventilation system did its duty.

Wait a minute…

_**Coffee!**_

Daniel's eyes flew open and lo and behold, all of SG-1 was lounging around his bed in various states of comfort. Teal'c appeared to be taking Daniel's most recent hospitalization as an opportunity to perfect his kel'nor'eem-ing. Sam was reading a book, and Cameron and Vala were playing a hushed (but furious) game of cards.

"You can't win with two Queens!"

"Yes I can. Especially when _you_ only have two threes."

"From my experience, whenever two queens get together they end up killing each other, which would leave _you_ with only three twos, and that means _I _win!"

"No, it doesn't. Let me explain the rules again…"

"Daniel!" Exclaimed Sam, who had pulled her nose out of her book to check on Mitchell and Vala's progress and realized Daniel had regained consciousness. All non-Daniel related activity immediately ceased.

"Great to see you're awake, Daniel," Mitchell said enthusiastically, clapping Daniel on the shoulder, "We were about ready to declare you deceased again…" "Forget awake, I'm glad to see you're _back_!" Sam exclaimed. Daniel cracked another smile. "Yeah, about that…sorry…it wasn't exactly a _planned_ trip…"

"We can talk about that later," Vala said quickly. Everyone stared at her with disbelief. Daniel bit back a laugh. "I mean," Vala said, refusing to retreat from their gazes, "It can wait until you're fully recovered, I'm sure."

"Unless, of course, it is vitally important information," Teal'c reminded them. "In that case it would be best if Daniel Jackson relayed the story of his disappearance immediately."

"Oh, nothing much happened," Daniel said. "You know, the Ori want to kill me, but that's not really new, is it. So, what's the damage?" Daniel asked, pointing to the bandages on his chest, snarkily ignoring the painfully curious expressions on his friends' faces.

"You've got a blast burn on your lower back," Sam began, "A couple broken ribs, and a small concussion."

"But you are recovering quite well, Daniel Jackson," Teal'c assured him. "Dr. Lam believes that you will be fit to leave this place in a week."

"A _week?_" Daniel exclaimed.

At that moment, it seemed as though he were suddenly overwhelmed with the memories of what had happened to him. And who he had met along the way… "Myrell!" he yelped, looking wildly about the hospital ward. The other beds were empty. An icy rock formed in the pit of his stomach.

"What's that?" Mitchell asked curiously.

"Myrell," Daniel repeated impatiently, "that's the name of the woman who saved me…" "She _saved_ you?" Vala asked with surprise, "How?"

"How is she doing?" Daniel asked anxiously, forestalling any other questions his friends might have.

"She's in an isolation room-" Mitchell began, but Daniel interrupted him. "An isolation room?" Daniel repeated with disbelief, "Why?"

"Hold on there, calm down," Mitchell warned, "or do I have to call the doctor?" For a moment Daniel struggled with his emotions, then sank back down into the soft hospital bed in acquiescence. "How is she doing?" he asked again, keeping his voice calm and face smooth.

"She's doing fine," Sam said, "but she hasn't woken up yet." "How long has it been?" asked Daniel.

"Two days."

Daniel frowned. _At least she's not dead. _"Is she injured?"

"Not as far as we can tell," Sam said, "the doctor says that she's just exhausted."

"She collapsed right after she brought you through the stargate," Mitchell added, seeing that Daniel was eager for information. "All she had time to say was 'Daniel Jackson,' then she passed out."

"Wait a sec," Daniel said, "She spoke?"

"Yes," Vala said, raising an eyebrow, "is that unusual?"

"Actually, yes," Daniel said. "She's never spoken before. Well, she can communicate, I can hear her in my head…" Daniel stopped himself. His colleagues had all adopted guarded expressions of 'dangit, he's insane' on their faces. "I'm not making this up," Daniel said forcefully, trying to think of a way to convince them. "It's okay Daniel," Mitchell said, "you can tell us about it later. Why don't you get some sleep?"

"Stop that," Daniel snapped, angry at his condescending tone, "I'm _fine_. And I'm _not _crazy!"

oooo

In a lonely isolation room several levels below the infirmary, Myrell opened her eyes slowly. She blinked several times, adjusting her eyes to the light. It wasn't the soft, warm glow of the tallow candles she was so familiar with, but instead were harsh white disks of light that were set into the ceiling far above her. She reduced the angle of her gaze and saw a sort of balcony above her, covered with glass. There was a man there, watching her. When she sat up and swung her legs over the edge of the bed, he spoke quickly into a black box on the table in front of him. Moments later a door opened to Myrell's left and a woman in a long white coat came in.

"Hello there," she said cheerfully, "how are you feeling?" Myrell nodded mutely at her. A small 'V' appeared on the woman's forehead. "Can you speak?" she asked. Myrell just stared at her. The woman sighed. "I'll be right back," she said. She left, and soon appeared behind the glass wall with the man.

As they spoke, Myrell eyed the door the woman had exited through. She walked to it and tested the cold metal handle, but it did not budge. She turned and glanced furtively at the white-coat woman and the black-box man. They were still talking, paying her no attention. Myrell smiled slightly, and dissolved into nothingness.

oooo

Red lights and klaxons blared outside Daniel's hospital room. _Something interesting has just happened I probably can't take part in, no doubt._ He returned his attention back to his book.

_Daniel Jackson, where am I?_

Daniel jumped as Myrell's voice sounded in his head. She was standing next to his bed, garbed in a light blue hospital gown, and gazing at the flashing lights outside with fright. Her voice sounded higher pitched than it usually did.

"You're awake," Daniel said with a grin, setting his book aside.

_Is this your home?_

"Pretty much, yeah," Daniel replied, thinking of how little time he spent at his real house. Then he frowned as another thought struck him. "Myrell, did Dr. Smith _let_ you come visit me…?"

Vala came running into Daniel's room at top speed. "Daniel," she gasped, "that girl you brought back – oh!" she exclaimed, as her eyes fell on Myrell. "She's _here_!"

"Dr. Lam really didn't let you out, did he?" Daniel asked Myrell, now fully understanding what the alarm was for. She shook her head no.

"Colonel Mitchell," Vala said into her radio, "I've found her, she's with Daniel." She clicked off her radio and grinned at Daniel. "I should have guessed this at the first," she said coyly, glancing at Myrell."

"Wha…?"

Mitchell jogged into the room, with Sam and Teal'c quick on his heels. "Daniel, would you care to explain to me why this girl of yours can walk through walls?"

"Uuum…" Daniel glanced at Myrell. She was gazing at Mitchell with a sort of fearful fascination.

_He's quite attractive, isn't he?_

Daniel choked. _Honestly, Myrell, the thought has never occurred to me!_

Mitchell frowned. "You okay, Daniel?"

"Yeah, fine," Daniel said quickly, clearing his throat. "And yeah, about that, I was going to explain that all to you guys later…"

"We need to take you back to Dr. Lam," Sam said kindly, smiling at Myrell and placing a hand on her shoulder. "We just want to run a few tests, okay? Just to make sure that you're all right." Myrell cocked her head quizzically to one side.

_'Okay?'_

"'Okay' means 'fine,' 'good,' or 'better,'" Daniel explained.

Everyone turned to look at him, none of them having heard Myrell's question. Daniel could see doubts of his sanity lurking behind their eyes. "It's nothing, nothing," he muttered, averting his gaze, "just more of that stuff I'll explain later…"

* * *

Well, this was going to run on for about –checks- four or so more pages, but I've only got ten minutes left on the computer :P and this is kinna long already, isn't it?

I just finished watching the Stargates from this week…the Atlantis episode was good (whoo-hoo Niam! I loved his accent) but it annoyingly mirrored the Replicator episode from SG-1 where instead of Weir and Niam it was Sam and Fifth. Except I think Weir came away much more honorably than Sam did; she didn't just leave Niam to be…well, whatever his fate was.

angw: Well, I hope Daniel and Myrell's entrance was good. I had wanted to make it more exciting…but I didn't want to over dramatize…so I don't really know exactly what I did…-writes in circles-

Gwion Bach: -slaps forehead- Yesh, it was Camelot, not Atlantis…I'm usually nitpicky about these things too (well, when I remember at least :). Thanks for telling me:D And btw, "Gwion" sounds so cool…it sound old-Englishy…:D

Circular Puzzel:D Cliffhangers are fun…fun for me too, cause half the time I don't remember what I was going to write next. Annoying, actually, it makes for a lot of frenzied midnight writing when I _do_ remember… :P :D

JoyBean: Yay! Another happy reviewer! –hugs-

Pyroheart101: Thank you very much :D And see, the thing is, Rodney actually is freakishly similar to a guy I know. So when he got shot…ya…I was laughing pretty much for the rest of the night with the mental image :D And Daniel…THIS time they stuck him in ENGLAND…-grrrr- See, Daniel is an integral part of the team; the moment he leaves they're all attacked by interdimensional beasties!


	6. Chapter 6

Gosh, I'm just on a roll lately…I'm thinking about going back and rewriting the first couple chappies. Nothing important will change maybe it'll just be some smoother writing…I went back and read it all today. See, I thought I'd put in something I shouldn't have (not inappropriate or anything, just wrong with the storyline) and I suddenly realized I never explained who kidnapped Myrell when Dear Ol' Danny found her in the first chappie. That immediately sparked a million plot bunnies, but I've settled on one and he'll be making an appearance after…chapter seven. Ya. I wrote two chapters today :D Anyhoo, the story…

**CHAPTER SIX** (for some reason my computer won't let me put the page break in...:P)

Twelve hours later Daniel had been released from the infirmary and was in the briefing room with Landry, Sam, Mitchell, Teal'c, and Dr. Lam. Albeit he was in a wheelchair (which he thought was ridiculous, he could walk perfectly fine – but there was no arguing with an irate Dr. Lam), but it was extremely relieving just to be sitting down for a briefing again after being so long away. A projector board had been set up and was displaying the security feed from Myrell's cell. Dr. Lam had finished her testes and Myrell had been given some spare camos (since her dress was in a sorry condition and a hospital gown was almost as bad) and had been stuck in one of the nicer holding cells until further notice. Everyone was on edge, afraid that she'd escape again and perhaps go rampaging around the SGC. Well, that feeling had been tempered a bit after Daniel's account of what had happened to him. It had been slightly more difficult than Daniel had anticipated convincing them that Myrell had done all the things he said she had. But at least they had believed him in the end. Now that that was taken care of, Dr. Lam took center stage with the test results he had gotten back on Myrell…

"Her physiology is remarkably similar to that of the Ancient SG-1 found in Antarctica a couple of years ago, but she has some sort of energy signature residing within her cells that she can apparently control at will. I assume we've all seen the security footage from earlier today?" Everyone nodded.

"So she's an…Ancient?" Vala asked skeptically, glancing at the other members of SG-1.

"Yes and no," Dr. Lam said. "It's like…well…take the Ancient gene. It allows whoever possesses it in their genetic code to access and control Ancient technology. Now, take a look at Myrell's DNA," he said, passing a sheet of paper around the table. "There are integral parts of the Ancient gene present in her DNA, but the thing is that it's mutated, in a way – her entire DNA contains elements of it, not just one isolated gene."

"So she's an _evolved_ Ancient?" General Landry asked, raising an eyebrow.

"No, I don't think we could call her that," Dr. Lam replied, "not that I actually know what to call her…"

"_Ancientae,_" Daniel whispered.

"What's that, Dr. Jackson?" Landry asked.

"Ancientae," Daniel said louder, excitedly using his hands to accentuate his words. "Vala's daughter Adria calls herself Orici, which if you take it as being related to the genitive case in Latin, translates to 'of the Ori,' or to fit her situation, 'child of the Ori.'"

Vala stirred uncomfortably in her seat.

"We know that Adria is a human," Daniel continued, "but the Ori gave her all of their knowledge so that she can lead the invasion force into our galaxy as a goddess, completely in harmony with the Ori's thoughts and wishes. Now we never had a chance to do any tests on Adria, obviously, but what Dr. Lam has said makes me think of her. Being that I can hear Myrell speaking in my mind also reminds me of Adria's empathic or telepathic abilities as well."

"So you're suggesting that Myrell has all the knowledge of an Ascended Ancient?" Sam asked incredulously. "I'm saying she might," Daniel corrected, "I really don't know." He looked around the table. General Landry was frowning, Sam looked like she was considering the idea very carefully, Mitchell was drinking some coffee, Teal'c was deep in thought, and Vala was playing with the ends of her pigtails. Daniel sighed loudly and everybody's eyes flew back to him once more.

"Look, I know it sounds far-fetched, but we don't know anything about her for certain except those tests here which, frankly, seem to support my theory. Let me talk to her."

"Go ahead, Dr. Jackson," Landry said. "Meanwhile, Colonel Mitchell, I'd like SG-1 to contact the Asgard and see if the Ori have taken any more planets in the last few days. Otherwise, dismissed."

"Yessir," Mitchell said, getting to his feet. "See you when we get back, Daniel," he said, patting him on the shoulder as he left the room. "Bye," he replied as the rest of SG-1 filed out. Now he had to figure out some strategy how to get Myrell to reveal her information…

Daniel was bedding down in his office that night, as Dr. Lam was still reluctant to let him off-base; it had taken all of Daniel's eloquence to convince the doctor to let him out of the infirmary. Daniel began to reminisce about the last time he had tried to fall asleep in this bed. The ramifications of Myrell being an Ascended being of some sort could be fascinating…_and helpful,_ Daniel reminded himself. He felt a pang of sorrow at the remembrance of losing his Ascension. Well, it wasn't exactly _remembrance,_ if you looked at it a certain way…

"It was your own fault you know, Daniel," a voice said from across the room. Daniel was startled into alertness, all traces of his slumber gone like a popped bubble.

"Who're you?" he asked as he slowly sat up on the bed, wondering if he shouldn't call security. The man as tall (if not taller) than Teal'c, and his skin was inky black like the night sky outside. He was thin and lithe like a rapier, but was dressed in blue jeans and a tan suede jacket. Everything about him bespoke normal-ness – which was actually rather unsettling in itself, since Daniel had never seen him at the SGC before and he was certainly not an alien he knew.

"My name is Soimal." For some reason the stranger's voice reminded him of a cat's purr; it was very deep, with a hint of rumble to it. "I have come to help you," he said.

"'Come?'" Daniel asked, "From where?" Then, he realized. "You're an Ascended being."

It wasn't a question.

Soimal inclined his head in a regal gesture. "I am."

Daniel knew that he had to be there about Myrell. I mean, how coincidental was it that during a time he was considering Myrell was some vaguely Ascended being that one actually pops into his office and offers aid?

"What do you want to 'help' me with?"

Soimal smiled. _Still the same Daniel,_ he thought, remembering the time when he had been counted among the ranks of the Ascended. _That was a good time._ "You have questions, Daniel Jackson. Questions I not only _can _answer, but _may _answer."

Daniel blinked. "Wait a minute…you're _allowed _to be here?" Daniel instinctively looked around the ceiling despite knowing that even if there were other Ascended present he wouldn't be able to tell. "Since when have the Ascended actually been interested in helping humans?" Pinpricks of anger sparked in his chest. "You all didn't seem so interested in our plight when I was speaking to Morgan la Fay," he said bitterly.

Soimal's expression became unreadable. "Those were different circumstances." _Ask only what you need to know, Daniel. Please don't ask what I still am not permitted to answer._

"Were they?" retorted Daniel, not really caring if he angered the Ascended. Soimal crossed his arms, frowning at Daniel. "What matters now, Dr. Jackson, is that we _are_ willing to help you in your struggles. To a certain extent."

Daniel forced himself not to say anything else. Soimal smiled. "Ask your questions, Dr. Jackson." Daniel frowned, suddenly realizing a catch in what Soimal had said. "Are you only allowed to answer my questions? You can't _offer_ any information?"

"That is correct, Dr. Jackson." _Dang. You _are_ smart. _

Daniel let out an agitated sigh and scrubbed his fingers through his hair. "Who is Myrell?" he asked first.

"She is who she appears to be." _Stupid question, Daniel._

Daniel grinned. "I _knew_ it wasn't going to be this easy."

"You need only ask the right questions, Dr. Jackson."

"Alright then. _What_ is Myrell?"

Soimal began to pace across Daniel's office. "She is, as you have guessed – which is partially why I am here – a child of the Ancients."

"Aha," said Daniel to himself. "And since you apparently know what I told SG-1, am I right about any of that?"

"Yes, she contains the knowledge of the Ancients. But we have not given her to you so easily, Dr. Jackson," warned Soimal.

"She must learn to access her knowledge. She does now know exactly what she is. And she will only gain what she knows if she _wants _to. Want is the key. She is not our puppet, as the Ori child is. Myrell, as you call her, has her own free will like any other human."

"So she _is_ human? Does she have parents? Family?"

The unexpected change of subject matter startled Soimal enough to send his eyebrows to meet his hairline. "Do you care for her so, Daniel Jackson?" he said with no little amusement.

"Well, I was the one who found her…" Daniel said defensively, ignoring Soimal's grin.

"Her parents are among the Ascended," Soimal finally said. "She is truly our child, not an Orici bastard."

"Yeah, about that," Daniel said, "how were the Ori allowed to create Adria? Doesn't that go against Ascended law?"

Soimal shuffled uneasily. _He's so curious! _"It is. But unfortunately the Ori have moved beyond our grasp…we have no control over what they do any longer."

Daniel laughed triumphantly; the irony of the situation was just too much. "So _that's_ the real reason you're helping – you want us, the humans, to clean house for you. You can't take care of this yourself anymore!"

Soimal drew himself up to his full height (very impressive), and his dark eyes flashed dangerously. _I certainly don't remember him being this asinine._ Daniel wondered if he had gone too far.

"You cannot understand, and I will not explain it to you," Soimal said stiffly.

Daniel decided to change topics. "Will Myrell help us find Merlin's weapon?"

"Myrell will help you defeat the Ori, if you can. How, I cannot say."

Daniel resisted the urge to ask _Cannot or will not?_ His interview was not going well at all. "Can you tell me where Merlin's weapon is?" Soimal shook his head emphatically.

"I cannot. I am only here to help you, but I cannot interfere to that extent." _I wish I could, I really do Daniel. But I do not treat my Ascension as lightly as you did. I'm so sorry._ Soimal inclined his head to the left, as though listening to something far away. "I must leave now. You have learned all you need to know. Good luck, Daniel Jackson."

"Wait!" Daniel cried fruitlessly. Soimal vanished in a gleam of golden light. Daniel sighed. "Well, at least he helped a little," he admitted.

Not he _really_ had a lot to think about.

**END**

You won't believe this…a few days have actually passed since I began typing this up, and in that interval I completely forgot the story I was going to work in about Myrell's kidnapping! –hits forehead– I'm starting to remember now, but it's fuzzy…seriously, I forget things so easily. My friends say I have the memory of a goldfish (which someone out there has apparently proved is roughly two seconds). I'm still going to use the idea…but now I have no idea where it's going to I'll have just as much fun as you-the-reader in finding it out! –laughs at self–

angw: well, I cut out the explaining part cause I figured that we'd all read it in the previous chappies…but yesh, he did have a rather brutal briefing when he explained it to those who were out of the loop ;)

StargateAngel01: -hee hee- they think Daniel's crazy to a certain extent, but that'll come to light in chapter eight…-makes a note so this time she WON'T forget-

Pyroheart101: oo, I researched and found out why Michael Shanks/Daniel is absent – he took some time off cause his wife is having a baby! Isn't that sweet? I forgive him for being "in England" now…:)

tricky1379: "ace"...nice…-feels happy- I'll update even sooner this time – maybe even before Friday – I have one other chapter written (in my notebook) already, and half another. The next chapter's going to deviate from the plot I have running here; some of the characters need a break ;) and it'll give time for the issues in chapter eight to develop (I think) :D


	7. Chapter 7

As promised (I think…dang troublesome memory!) here's the update! My plot bunnies are multiplying thick and fast, pepples…;)

-ALKG!- once again, my computer won't put in the line break. -glares at computer-

**CHAPTER SEVEN**

Several Weeks Later…

Daniel was sitting alone at the lonely observation deck that overlooked Myrell's room. He had told General Landry and the rest of SG-1 about Soimal's visit and the information he shared, but the only thing it accomplished was to make everyone extremely wary of Myrell; they weren't quite sure what to think of her. She wasn't just a girl who could walk through walls anymore; she had the potential to be very dangerous. And her abilities _did_ seem to be expanding – that was the reason for the 24-hour surveillance. Once she blew out the power to the entire half the base…in her sleep.

_Daniel, why must you stay up there? Can you not come down here again?_

Daniel sighed. Myrell always spoke to him when he was up here, even though the glass was only one-way. She seemed to be able to sense when he was near. And, oddly enough, so could he. He remembered when he was fighting Jonathan when Myrell woke up, when he felt amusement but didn't know why – that had been Myrell. Right now she was feeling rather cranky and bored. Daniel didn't know whether it was their strange connection or just his frustration with the others for being unable to trust Myrell, but he was feeling the same way. He visited her in person as often as he could, but he did have other duties to attend to (cataloguing, translating, researching, etc.). He usually compromised by taking a surveillance shift when he had paperwork, but Myrell was very lonely.

_Daniel?_

He realized he hadn't answered Myrell's question. He checked his watch. 11:13 pm.

_Why aren't you asleep?_ He asked.

_You are not._

_You _should _sleep. _

_I have nothing to do but sleep! Sleep and explore…if I did not have to stay in this room, I would feel much better…_

'_Explore?' How?_

_I can see into other people._

Daniel's interest was piqued. There was just no limit to Myrell. Now she could not only speak into your mind, but she could _read_ minds? _Just the people on this base? Or can you 'see' farther than that?_

_Only people I have seen before. _Those last words were laden with loneliness. She was sitting cross-legged on her bed, staring up to where Daniel was sitting. Daniel sighed and polished his glasses. Something had to be done…

oooo

"General, I'd like to ask you a favor."

General Landry looked up in surprise to see Dr. Jackson in his doorway. The man had a very earnest expression on his face; it must be important. "Certainly. What can I do for you?"

Daniel hesitated before he spoke. "I'd like to request permission to take Myrell into Colorado Springs, sir," he said quickly.

Landry's eyes widened. "May I ask why you would like to do such a thing, Doctor?"

Daniel stepped closer to Landry's desk, now that Landry hadn't simply dismissed his proposal. "She's been locked up in that room ever since I brought her here, sir. She's not a prisoner, and we shouldn't treat her like one."

Landry leaned back in his chair and studied Daniel for a few seconds. He still moved gingerly with his almost-healed ribs as he shuffled his feet. His expression was hopeful. Landry wanted to say yes…he trusted Jackson. And God only knew what to do with the girl. He certainly didn't.

"If you're worried about me being able to control her, sir," Daniel said, cutting in on Landry's thoughts, "it'd be fine. She does whatever I tell her – she's told me the only reason she actually stays in her cell instead of going someplace else is because I told her not to. I trust her, sir. She trusts me."

"You do have considerable influence over her," Landry commented. Daniel nodded quickly. "You are the only one she communicates with," he added. Daniel nodded again. The expression on his face was borderline painful; the suspense was agony. Landry sighed. What could he do? "Go ahead, Dr. Jackson."

"Yes!" Daniel hissed, pumping his fist in the air like a little kid. "Thank you so much, General!"

"Hold on there, Dr. Jackson!" Landry shouted, and Daniel froze in mid-bound out the doorway. "I just want to remind you that you have sole responsibility of her. If anything happens to her, especially given the information Soimal gave us…"

"I understand, sir," Daniel said quickly. Landry smiled at Daniel's excitement.

"You may go now, Dr. Jackson," he said. "I sure hope I did the right thing," he sighed as he heard Daniel's shoes patter away down the hallway.

oooo

Daniel glanced at Myrell as they drove out of the Cheyenne Mountain complex into the small city at the mountain's base, Colorado Springs. Myrell was gazing in rapture at the falling snowflakes that disintegrated the instant they collided with the windshield of the car.

_What is this?_ She asked excitedly.

"Snow," Daniel said, taking a right turn and entering the city's downtown. "It's frozen water," he explained further. Daniel parked his car and checked out the surrounding shops and attractions, trying to decide where to take her first. Myrell was practically leaping up and down in her seat with exhilaration.

Sam had gone shopping for her the day before (so she wouldn't have to wear Lt. Gressler's spare camos anymore), and had picked her out jeans and a perky three-quarter sleeve sweater in shades of blue for Myrell. Sam had also lent her one of her jackets, and Mitchell had pitched in as well and donated a much-loved (or, well-worn) old army cap of his. When Myrell was dressed in these clothes she looked much more her age; in the dim light of Jonathan's castle and her regal dresses, Daniel had guesstimated Myrell to be at least twenty, but Dr. Lam had concluded from her bone scans that she was closer to seventeen or eighteen.

Daniel's eyes fell on a small coffeeshop down the street. Its windows (which were decorated for the holidays) glowed with a cheer light, and Daniel could even hear the bell over the doorway jingle as each customer entered or exited with steaming cardboard cups in their gloved or mittened hands. Daniel grinned at Myrell.

"Want to try some coffee?"

_Kah-fee? What is it?_

"A drink. Really tasty. What am I thinking, of course you'll want some coffee…"

oooo

By the end of the day Daniel was exhausted. Myrell had wanted to visit every single shop and every single building. It had been fun, admittedly – yet exhausting all the same. Myrell evidently was feeling the effects of the day as well; she was already asleep in the front seat of the car as they wound their way back up the mountainside to the SGC, with a trophy Beanie Baby Daniel had bought her that day peeking out from her inner jacket pocket. Daniel's face saddened as he parked and turned off the car. During the day it had been easy to forget who and what Myrell was. It had been so blissful – as though he had been treating a daughter or niece to a day around town. With the shadow of the SGC looming over Daniel's car and blocking the starlight, the knowledge that the sleeping girl next to him was destined to become inexplicably tangled in the affairs of the Ori was not only disconcerting, but saddening.

"Come on, Myrell," he said gently, tapping her shoulder to wake her. "We're back." Daniel tried to shake his mood as he led a sleepy-but-happy Myrell back to the base.

Mmmmm…I love peppermint tea. It was the first type of tea I ever had, my 4th grade class had a "Victorian tea party," lol. My family keeps threatening to go off coffee completely and switch to tea, but I won't go _that_ far! Although caffeine does have an _insanely_ long half-life.

**END OF CHAPTER**

angw: -heh,- I was wondering if I should put in a bit of romance for Daniel…idk tho. I was planning on Daniel being an extremely close friend, and having Myrell fall for someone else most Stargate fans are acquainted with...

I'm actually debating with myself about the status of Myrell's parents. The way I had figured it out in my mind was that Myrell's parents were Ascended/Ancient and she volunteered to help the humans when the Ascended made the decision to do so, so she was de-Ascended. That would explain her unusual appearance on Jonathan's planet and her lack of memory. I think I am still going to stick with that explanation. But the thing is, time is not _linear_ for the Ascended. Which means to get to point C you don't actually have to pass points A and B first. Which means she could have been born a thousand years in our future. Which means her parents could have "gotten together" at any time…and that's the only hint I'm giving :D

johnno53: sorry! No, I'm not ending this ficthingie anytime soon :D I put "end" in there because my computer wouldn't allow me to insert the line breaks, and I didn't want the story to run into my A/N. I think I did that accidentally in a couple previous chappies. actually, every time I write up a chappie I get new ideas as I go over points of the plot. I've already inserted new points, and more are getting added all the time…and a few are reviewer-inspired. so the story is always changing…:D

-morough-


	8. Chapter 8

-ARG!- two weeks ago I got bitten by a yellowjacket and stung by a bee in the same hour…and only NOW they choose to start itching…

-resists the urge to scratch-

-arm gets itchier-

-morough begins to twitch-

-arm gets itchier-

**CHAPTER EIGHT **(you know, someday I'll give these thingies names)

Mitchell was writing up a mission report when Sam walked into his office. "Hey Cameron, how's it going?" she asked, leaning against the doorframe.

"Pretty good, how 'bout yourself?" he asked. "Oh, okay," Sam replied. Mitchell smiled. "What's up, Sam? What's botherin' you?" Sam exhaled slowly.

"It's Daniel. Hasn't he been acting a little…odd, lately?" Mitchell frowned.

"No, I haven't particularly noticed. But, then again, I don't have that handy-dandy female intuition. So what're you noticing?"

"He's been spending all his time with Myrell…"

Mitchell's face quirked as he tried not to smile. "Jealous?" he asked, winning a glare from Sam.

"What I'm saying is that he's spending _too_ much time with her. He hardly talks to us at all anymore."

"He's busy." Mitchell said dismissively. "He said he was helping Myrell with her subconscious memory thing, or whatever…"

"Do you know where he is right now?"

"No."

"He's out in Colorado Springs with Myrell. He didn't even tell me, I heard about it from the General."

"So what's your point?"

"Remember how Daniel explained he could communicate with her in his mind? Exactly how much control does he have over her? What kind of power does she have over _him_?"

Mitchell crossed his arms and stared hard at Sam. All traces – well, most traces – of his ever-present humor had left. Sam was talking seriously.

"Are you saying that she's controlling him?"

Sam shrugged unhappily. "I have no idea! But isn't it strange? We really have no idea of what happened while he was gone, and he was gone a long time. Isn't it so _convenient_ that Daniel is the only one who can talk to her? That Daniel is the only one who can control her? What if that really isn't the case, that she's controlling _him?_"

"Sam, you know what you're saying, right?" Mitchell asked slowly.

"I do," Sam said. "I know everything I've said sounds horrible, especially if it turns out not to be true, but we have no way of knowing that it isn't. All we know is what Daniel told us."

"And I usually tend to trust Daniel-"

"But when does trust become blindness?"

"Ever heard of 'blind trust?'"

"Cameron, I don't want to argue with you. But the facts are the only explanation we have for Daniel's disappearance is Daniel, and everything since then has come from Daniel, and he's acting suspiciously! You can't ignore the facts, Cameron."

Cameron sighed, unwilling to say the words he was going to say.

"No, you can't."

oooo

The ship hummed as it sliced through the vacuum of space as neatly as a knife through oil. The velvety blackness of the ship allowed it to blend with the space around it.

A man sat in the only chair the ship offered, gazing blankly out the glasslike window/viewscreen. His sage-green eyes were as empty as the space he was flying thorough. In contrast, his ship was cluttered with all sorts of bric-a-brac; weapons of various makes and styles, figurines, interesting rocks, books, clothes, even a few animal pelts and plants.

He was dressed all in black. His skin was pale, as though he had not seen the light of a sun in many months. His fingers were long and agile – at least, all of them that were still present. On his left hand, two misshapen stubs were all that was left of his index and ring finger. When he stood and began to pace the length of his small cabin he walked with a limp, favoring his left leg. With the exception of his mutilated hand and gimp leg he was tall and lithe. He gave the impression of being very strong without the bulk of large muscles.

A light began to flash on his computer console, drawing his attention away from his thoughts. He sat down in his chair again and stared at the light for a minute or so, just watching the small red light turn on and off. And on, and off. And on…and off…and on…

"There are only so many places you can hide, darling."

oooo

Daniel woke up the next day, feeling very chipper. He had slept the night at the SGC since he didn't feel like driving all the way back home after bringing Myrell back from their day out. He showered, changed his clothes, and made his way down to the mess hall where he poured himself a cup of coffee. _I should have brought back a bag of coffee grounds,_ he mused as he poured himself a cup of "Brand X" coffee. _It's much better than this…stuff…_

He turned around and was so surprised to find Mitchell right in front of him that he nearly spilled his coffee. "Cameron!" he said "what's up?" Mitchell said nothing, simply staring Daniel in the eye. _Okaaay…getting a little weird here…_Daniel frowned. "Is something wrong?" he asked.

"General Landry wants to see you." Mitchell said shortly.

"Okay," Daniel said, stepping sideways so that he could walk past Mitchell and finally breaking eye contact. He had felt like the man was judging him. He began to walk away, but stopped as Mitchell spoke again.

"Daniel?"

"Yes?"

"Don't take it personally."

oooo

Daniel slammed his car door so hard as he got into it that the snow fell off his side mirrors and plopped into the snow gathered on the asphalt below. Daniel turned the ignition switch and sat in the car, fuming, as he waited for the engine to warm up.

General Landry had been very kind in his explanation, but the fact remained that he had taken Daniel off active duty and imposed a vacation – a break – on him. "You need a break," he said, "you've been working too hard."

"Damn right, I have," Daniel hissed to his empty car in bad temper. He had too many people lie to him in the past not to see one when it was right in his face. General Landry had banned him from the base for a week, had suspended his passport and air travel rights, and forbidden him to take home any more files to work on. Daniel was essentially stuck with himself for a week. Doing _nothing. _His busy nature shrieked with fear.

Daniel put the car into reverse and backed out of the SGC parking lot, and started to head home. He could feel Myrell in the back of his head, worried for him and curious. He pushed her back and blocked her from his thoughts. He could feel her retreat, but a tang of confusion lingered behind her.

"Why won't they let me do my job?" he asked out loud, "Especially NOW? When we have the Ori on our track!" He knew he was irrationally angry. But he didn't particularly care.

He pulled up to his house and steered the car into the garage, slamming his door again as he got out for good measure. He walked inside, tossed his jacket onto the coathanger and pulled a beer out of his fridge. He knew the others didn't think he drank, given the fact it was insanely easy for him to bypass tipsiness into full-out drunkenness. But there sure were times when he needed it.

Daniel popped the cap off the bottle and took a long pull at the beer. He knew why Landry had sent him away. Even if Mitchell had not asked him not to 'take it personally,' he could figure out that they were concerned with his mental health. "Ha," he said tonelessly, taking another gulp of his _Dos Equis_. In fact, there was probably someone outside his house right now doing surveillance on him. What a comforting thought.

Three hours later Daniel was fast asleep on his couch.

oooo

He was awakened by a woman's scream.

Daniel leaped off the couch and reached for his coffeetable lamp, but the sudden movement brought on an enormous wave of dizziness and he crashed to the floor, barking his shin on said coffeetable. "Owww," he moaned, his hand searching for the light.

_There was a soft swoosh of air and suddenly Daniel was in the middle of a green meadow. He looked around wildly, the movement almost causing him to lose his balance due to his drunken state. But then his eyes fell on Myrell. _

"_Myrell!" he said cheerfully, "where am I?"_

"_Daniel! He's coming!" she said, her voice high pitched and frightened. _

"_Is he now?" Daniel slurred happily, falling into the soft green grass. It smelled very sweet. He stared at the cloudless sky. _No sun…

"_What's wrong with you?" Myrell knelt down next to Daniel and peered into his eyes. "Daniel, you have to help me!"_

"_Not _now_," Daniel grumbled, "I'm sleeping…"_

_The meadow faded, and Daniel returned to his normal dreams. _

**END OF CHAPTER**

Sorry, short chappie...I was going to wait until I had five reviews for my last chapter, but I shtapose three is enough…I've already written up chapter twelve already anyway! I _need_ to update! But just remember, I will always update quicker if I have more reviews:D :D (although 2534 hits are very impressive, thank you everyone who's "hit" me…)

-SLAP-

-morough: ow!-

angw: you will be happy to learn that I will fully explain Myrell's parentage in a later chapter :D I doubt it'll be anything people are expecting… :D

Pyroheart101: school for you too? I start Monday at the local "geek school" –feels proud- but I can't wait to see people again and I've got a _really_ good schedule this year (sixth period off:) so I'm looking forward to it…or, I have been looking forward to it since it turned August…-feels geeky-

Hmm…"Pyroheart" _may _be one of their name choices, but I don't really know for certain… –grins cheekily- :D

JoyBean: thank you very much :D


	9. Chapter 9

I know! I've been gone a long time! Sorry!

**CHAPTER NINE** (oo! "number nine...number nine...number nine..." does anyone get that:D)

Daniel awoke to find his nose burrowing into the carpet. He could almost see the dust mites laughing at him. He sat up and sneezed. The action rocketed through his skull with more force than a Mach-5 missel. He instinctively clutched his head and groaned, letting himself slump back down onto the floor.

_I hate hangovers._

_Then why do you drink? _He asked himself snarkily.

_Oh, shut up,_ he said irritably. _So here is the grand first day of my "vacation…"_

Despite having hung around enough scientists to know that nothing helps a hangover, Daniel fixed himself an eight-cup pot of black coffee and sat down with a full mug. He glared at the open window in his kitchen, which was letting in golden beams of piercing sunlight.

Daniel frowned as he suddenly remembered the position in which he had awakened. _What was I doing on the floor?_ He wondered blearily. He table and lamp had been knocked askew as well. He slowly got to his feet and walked back to his living room and surveyed the destruction. Something was nagging at the back of his mind…

The coffee cup feel from his hands and its dark liquid soaked into the carpet, staining the brisk taupe a bitter brown color.

Myrell. The meadow. Her words…

Daniel ran as fast as he could toward the coat tree, ignoring the spilled coffee and the way the blood pounded in his head as he moved. He grabbed the first coat he saw, sending the wooden pole that held the rest of his jackets crashing to the floor. This also went unnoticed as he sprinted outside, forgetting to lock his door or even close it all the way, jumped into his car and sped off for the SGC. He prayed that there was no cop waiting for him with a radar gun along the way, because he wasn't sure that he would even stop if there was.

The bulk of personnel were only just arriving at the SGC. Daniel parked the car and ran as fast as he could across the slushy parking lot, skidding spectacularly on the black ice. He finally made it to the first check-in point. The guard smiled politely at him, recognizing his face through the askew glasses and red flush.

"You know I've got orders now to allow you on-base, Dr. Jackson."

"I NEED to!" Daniel shouted, utterly surprising the guard. "Something is going to happen! Something bad!" Daniel saw a second guard poke his head around the corner to see what all the commotion was about. The first guard had recovered himself, however, and was unimpressed with Daniel's theatrics.

"Please, you gotta believe me," Daniel pleaded. He could hear people muttering behind him, but all he could see was the guard's angular face in front of him. He could almost see the cogs whirling in the man's brain as he decided what to do. Finally he turned and picked up the phone that hung on the wall, and dialed Gen. Landry. Daniel began to tremble with relief. Gen. Landry wouldn't turn him away. Or would he…?

"Sir, I'm sorry to disturb you," the guard said in a hushed voice with a glance at Daniel, as though he didn't want the frenzied archaeologist to hear him, "but I have Dr. Jackson here at Gate A. He said something bad is going to happen, and he wants to come in. Yessir. Agitated. Very agitated. Alright sir." He hung up the phone and turned back to Daniel.

"General says you're to report to the infirmary first." Daniel rolled his eyes. _Great._

oooo

Myrell contacted him as soon as Dr. Lam was done with her examinations.

_Daniel, are you here?_

_I am. As close as I can get right now, anyway._ His mind-voice was tinged with everything he was feeling. Fear, but relief. At least he was inside the SGC. Things could only get better from here. But yes, he was still very agitated…

_I'm scared._

_Why?_

_He's coming!_

_Who?_

_I don't know! _

Panicked images began to flash through Daniel's brain, images from Myrell's memories from before she met Jonathan of the Hood. They spinned faster and faster until the colors all blended, and Daniel could feel himself losing it.

"_Stop!"_

"Daniel!" he felt a hand grab his wrist. He opened his eyes and realized that while he had been communicating with Myrell the rest of SG-1 had come into his room. And he'd shouted "stop" at them. He saw four different faces wearing four different versions of "yep, he's crazy" in front of him. He closed his eyes again, and tried to gather his scattered thoughts.

"How are you feeling, Daniel?" Vala asked cautiously.

"Like hell," he snapped, immediately regretting his overreaction to a simple question. Vala looked hurt, but more worried than hurt.

"Look, I'll get straight to the point," Daniel said quickly, "someone's coming to get Myrell, and she's afraid that he's going to hurt her."

"How exactly do you know this, Daniel?" Sam asked.

"I don't know!" he said waspishly, "but she can sense him coming. She told me." Sam and Mitchell glanced at each other before Mitchell spoke up.

"Daniel, Dr. Lam says you're coming down off a mighty big hangover…are you sure that you aren't just-"

Daniel exploded.

"DON'T YOU GET IT?" He yelled, "I'm not LYING , I'm not CRAZY. Someone is coming, and if he's a danger to Myrell he sure as hell will be for us!"

Daniel had hardly realized he was on his feet before Mitchell and Teal'c were forcing him back onto the bed.

"DOCTOR! GET IN HERE!" Mitchell shouted as he secured restraints on Daniel's wrists, firmly attaching him to the bed. Dr. Lam entered the room at a run, and soon everyone was crowding around Daniel trying to calm him, so that they even blocked out the lights above them.

"NO!" he shouted, "LISTEN TO ME!"

oooo

A tall, thin man with dark hair pulled his car into the Cheyenne Mountain Facility parking lot. He got out of the vehicle and shook his jacket so that the weapons settled more comfortably into their hidden pockets. He smiled grimly as the harsh winter winds raked across his lips and eyeballs. Raegala was a much warmer planet than this. He began to walk toward the cement building nestled inside the mountain's earthy maw, and his heavy boots compressed the snow into oblong disks of ice beneath his feet.

The guard with the angular face died before he could raise an alarm. The second died the same way. And without any further struggle, Liam the Black had entered Stargate Command uncontested.

For the moment.

oooo

The little man who ran the security feed was staring at the dregs of his coffee. The carafe was empty, and he couldn't leave for another three hours when his shift ended. _You'd think I'd get more respect,_ he thought grumpily. _After all, what would happen if I weren't here? An army of aliens could storm the front gate and no one would even know. I'm so important, and they don't even realize it…_He grumped a bit more, but it was ground he'd already been over before. He sighed, and his eyes strayed to the computer screen where all the feeds were displayed.

He gasped. Sgt. Wilmeyers, the man who was guarding the front gate, was lying on the ground with blood on his chest.

"Oh…oh my…my…HOLY CRAP!" the little man who ran the security feed shouted. He brought up the other cameras just in time to see a man in a dark coat whip past a trio of slumped and bloody bodies inside the complex.

_I am _so _going to get fired for this._ He slammed his fist down on the alarm button just as Liam entered the main part of the building.

oooo

The sirens were of a pitch and intensity that Liam had never heard before, but he had heard enough like them to know that he had been discovered. Apparently this culture was not as primitive as he had assumed. A pity he had underestimated them. He sighed, annoyed, and continued strolling down the hallway. Myrell was not far.

oooo

As soon as the alarm went off Mitchell's hand went for his gun but – being safe and cozy inside the SGC – he didn't have it on him. "Dammit," he cursed. On top of Daniel being insane and thrashing around on the bed, there was an intruder. "Dammit," he said again, sprinting out of the room to get his gun. Sam, Teal'c, and Vala were right on his heels, leaving Dr. Lam to deal with Daniel.

Mitchell rounded the corner and found himself face-to-face with a man dressed all in black. _Definitely_ not a SGC uniform. His gun was in front of Mitchell's nose before he could even blink, and he felt rather than heard the rest of his team skid to a stop behind him. The five of them froze, two of them even more stationary than the rest of them. The alarm lights illuminated the group like a display of ghastly red statues. Then the man spoke.

"Come with me," he said. His voice was mid-tone and polite, but not cultured.

"Okay," Mitchell said slowly, careful to keep his hands in the air. He walked slowly to where the man gestured with his free hand and began to walk forward. The gun was pressed against the base of his skull, and the metal chilled him.

"If you follow, he will die," the man said calmly. The calmness was frightening. It held no excitement, joy, or fear. Mitchell got the impression that the man took no pleasure in what he was doing, but was at peace with it. It was just something he had to do. He was impassive.

The two of them walked, and as they did so soldiers piled into the hallways branching away from them, but they held their fire when they saw Mitchell. At one point he thought he saw General Landry, but he was focused on keeping one foot moving in front of the other. He didn't even know where they were going until they arrived…at the door of Myrell's room. Mitchell felt a huge pain in his soul when he realized it. _Daniel was right…_

"Open it." The man ordered. Mitchell drew his security card and swiped it, and the doors opened. They closed again behind them as they entered the room. Mitchell heard the sound of military-issue boots outside the door as soldiers took position to keep them from exiting again.

"Lock it." Mitchell locked it. As soon as he had a bolt of excruciating pain blasted through his body, and he fell heavily on the floor.

Liam turned and saw Myrell standing behind her bed, still dressed in the clothes Sam had bought for her. He smirked. "Cute," he said. Myrell bristled, and sparks flew across her fingertips.

"No, no, no," Liam said quickly, raising his gun and pointing it at Mitchell. "Don't try it. Weapons of Raegalan make have an unfortunate tendancy to fire when shocked with a burst of electricity. Something to do with faulty wiring, I believe…. And if you try disappearing on me, this man here is as good as dead."

Myrell lowered her hands. Liam smiled. "Good girl." He slid his gun into his holster while he walked toward her, and pulled out a syringe with an ochre-colored liquid. "Remember this?" he murmured, stepping closer.

As he raised the syringe Myrell's hand whipped out, her fingers rigid and straight. She slammed it into Liam's stomach, earning a grunt of pain and surprise. She moved her other hand to snatch away his gun but his blow came out of nowhere and caught her on the collarbone, near the base of her throat. Her body was slammed into the bed, and the metal railing dug into her side and winded her. She struggled to get back to her feet, but couldn't for the gold and silver flecks dancing before her eyes. She looked up, and her gaze locked with Liam's. His soft green eyes held…pity? Could such an emotion exist in his soul?

The syringe descended on her neck, and she fell limp on the floor as the liquid from the needle raced through her veins.

oooo

Daniel glared at everybody the best he could from his undignified position on the bed. That, and he didn't have his glasses so he really couldn't tell for sure whom he was glaring at. Teal'c had just broken the news that someone had single-handedly broken into the SGC and kidnapped Myrell, though Daniel had guessed as much form the alarm and Mitchell being brought into the infirmary unconscious. He was awake now, however, and looking very sheepish indeed. It took Daniel's all not to scream with frustration. But he held his tongue. SG-1 was really looking embaressed.

"So," he said in his I'm-acting-cheerful-because-I-really-think-I-might-lose-it-this-time voice, "do these come off now?" He lifted his hand the couple of millimeters it was allowed with the restraints. "Oh, yeah," Vala said hoarsely, untying them. She, like the rest of SG-1, was avoiding looking directly at him.

"Daniel, I – _we're_ sorry," Sam said sincerely. Daniel gave her some points for the tone of voice. He felt his anger lessen slightly. Maybe by a micrometer or so.

"Do we know who took her?" he asked this time not struggling to keep the anger out of his voice, but the worry and fear. _Oh, God, Myrell._

"The security feed just has a guy in black. A profile search turned up nothing. Not even with the Trust," Sam said.

"The Trust? You think he was a Goa'uld?"

"No. He had a nice Goa'uld beaming device though. It went right through our jamming shield, it was altered," Sam said angrily, pacing the room. "It's unlike anything we've seen before."

"But you can trace it? _Did_ you trace it?" Daniel asked eagerly.

"Daniel, he's long gone," Mitchell said quietly.

"What do you mean?"

"_Gone_ gone. We got nothing from the orbital trackers at all. It's like he was never here. I'm really, really sorry.

"As am I, Daniel Jackson," Teal'c said gravely.

Daniel slumped back against the bed, wishing the world would just disappear.

**END OF CHAPTER**

I am REALLY sorry about not updating. School's been crazy, and my weekends are filled with everything I _can't_ do during the weekdays now. asks for forgiveness But anyway! I hope you guys liked this chapter :D

angw: :D

Jx101: I'm sorry it took so long :C But welcome aboard, matey! harr Isn't Speak Like A Pirate Day coming up soon? I thought it was October…

Uchiha-Kai-Itachi: :D Thank you!

_**ATTN:**_

taken from my blog

okay. most of you who know me or have been around me for any lengthly period of time -

for that, I'm sorry, and you really should see a phsychiatrist as soon as you can to investigate possible deadly side affects of excessive exposure to Em

- know that I am obsessed with a show called Stargate. Stargate SG-1. Stargate Atlantis. well, who cares about Atlantis right now, it's safe...because STARGATE SG-1 ISN'T.

They took it off the air. The idiots at the SciFi Channel decided that they wanted to "end on a high note" and cancelled Stargate amidst a wonderful plotline, leaving several million fans across the globe hanging. It's absolutely horrible. This show has been running (VERY successfully) for TEN SEASONS. They had their 200th episode a few weeks ago. I cannot stress how WRONG this decision was.

So why am I writing this?

Because to make moi (and those handful million plus people over the globe I mentioned earlier) happy, I want you to do me a little favor. Just fax a letter. A simple letter. Here, I even have something for you to say - you don't have to think:D

taken from  extremely sorry SciFi has cancelled Stargate SG-1; it's my favorite show. I believe your own scheduling decisions are to blame for the fall in ratings, and with a little creativity, you can fix it and save the show for the fans. Try a different time slot for SG-1, say the hour BEFORE Monk airs, or put Eureka into the mix as the crucial 3rd programming hour that made SG1, Atlantis and Galactica the must-see-live block on Friday nights. If not…MGM are working extremely hard to secure the future of Stargate SG-1 and so are the fans around the world. I'm afraid I'll be following Stargate SG-1 to a rival network unless you rescind the cancellation and commit to a full 20-episode order for Season 11 of the show.

end exerpt

Just for the record, I don't watch Galactica. I like the old ones, but not the new ones...anyhoo...if you're going to do this (PLEASE DO!) fax it to:

FAO: Bonnie Hammer, President  
NBC Universal Sci Fi Channel  
Fax: (212) 664-3890  
Tel: (212) 664-4444

FAO: Mark Stern, Executive VP Original Programming  
NBC Universal Sci Fi Channel  
Tel: (818) 777-1000

I really hope you people can do this :D


	10. Chapter 10

Wow, the end of that last chapter got really weird…but basically the first underlined paragraph and the addys for the people to write to were taken from and my blog. It's so horrible that it's been cancelled tho! But apparently MGM is looking at having their _very own_ tv channel! Yay! Then they just have to fix that idiotic clause they made with SciFi…

But enough about that. On with the story!!

**CHAPTER TEN**

_Knock. Knock. Knock._

Mitchell looked up to see General Landry walk into his office.

"General," he said wearily, "what can I do for you?"

"I'm sorry, Colonel, but you're going to have to postpone SG-1's search for Myrell…"

"What!?" Mitchell exclaimed. Landry raised an eyebrow. "I mean…why sir?" Mitchell asked, trying to keep the skepticism out of his voice.


End file.
